272 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



almost esteemed as a science in China. 

 Mr. Wingrove Cook assigns to the Chi- 

 nese in cookery a middle position — be- 

 low the French and above the English. 

 The Chinaman considers the English- 

 man's mode of feeding the nearest ap- 

 proach to that of the savages of For- 

 mosa; 'for,' says he, 'the Englishman 

 does the chief work of the slaughter- 

 house upon his dinner-table, and he re- 

 mits the principal work of the kitchen 

 to his stomach.' . . . The social life of 

 the Chinese is generally described as a 

 mass of ceremonials and cold formali- 

 ties, devoid of all real kindness of heart ; 

 but this opinion is based upon incom- 

 plete observations. In their common 

 intercourse the Chinese are not more 

 formal than is elsewhere considered to 

 be well bred. Whether in the crowded 

 and narrow thoroughfares, the village 

 green, the bustling market, the jostling 

 ferry, or the thronged procession, wher- 

 ever the people are assembled promis- 

 cuously, good humor and courtesy are 

 observable." 



The Chinese are eminently a peace- 

 able people. In this respect they con- 

 form more perfectly to the theoretical 

 standard of Christian morals than any 

 Christian nations. Duels are unknown 

 among them ; and they consider a re- 

 sort to force as proof of an inferior 

 kind of civilization. They are conserv- 

 ative, and dread all violent disturb- 

 ance. Governor Davis says, " They 

 have lived so much in peace that they 

 have acquired by habit and education a 

 more than common terror of political 

 disorders"; and again, "Their common 

 maxim is, ' Better be a dog in peace 

 than a man in anarchy.' " 



The ancient and permanent policy 

 of the Chinese Government has accord- 

 ed with the spirit of its population, and 

 has been peaceful. " Happy the people 

 ■whose history is wearisome," remarks 

 Montesquieu ; and Governor Davis ob- 

 serves, " If this be the character of 

 Chinese history — if we find the even 

 current of its annals for a long time 



past (before the late rebellion) less 

 troubled by disorders and anarchy than 

 that of most other countries — we must 

 look to the causes in the fundamental 

 principles of the government, and in 

 the maxims by which it is adminis- 

 tered." * Such habits of life are of 

 course not favorable to the virtues 

 of the prize-ring and the battle-field. 

 Christians have hence reproached the 

 Chinese for practicing the pacific mo- 

 rality of Christ, and, because they have 

 not been given to internal discord and 

 external war, have accused them of 

 cowardice— the leading characteristic, 

 by the way, of the American militia. 

 If the reader will look over the first 

 article in the November " Atlantic 

 Monthly," on " Our Military, Past 

 and Future," he will find it proved 

 that, in the various wars that make 

 our annals such lively reading, Amer- 

 ican citizens have always proved the 

 most arrant cowards, who will never 

 stand up to fight unless they have 

 been so long subject to military disci- 

 pline that all manliness is drilled out 

 of them, and they become mere pup- 

 pets, good for nothing but to obey or- 

 ders. And it further turns out that 

 the " courage " of even the old disci- 

 plined soldier, in nine cases out of ten, 

 is a differential result of his opposing 

 fears, and that he fights the enemy be- 

 cause he is more afraid of his friends. 



We used to hear many years ago 

 about a quality called moral courage, 

 and the stand for principles in defiance 

 of brute force ; but since our great war 

 less has been heard of that very unmili- 

 tary virtue. It will therefore be re- 

 freshing to recall a conspicuous Chinese 

 instance of it. On the 28th of Decem- 

 ber, 1857, a mile of gunboats, English 

 and French, were drawn up in line be- 

 fore the city of Canton. They sum- 

 moned the Viceroy to surrender, but 

 he did not comply. The allies then 

 opened fire, and kept up for many hours 



'Davis's " China," vol. i., p. 



